Air conditioner

ABSTRACT

An air conditioner includes an indoor unit disposed at an indoor space; and an outdoor unit disposed at an outdoor space and connected to the indoor unit through refrigerant pipes, wherein the indoor unit includes an indoor unit body forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and provided with a plurality of indoor outlets; and a plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units disposed inside the indoor unit body such that the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units corresponds to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority benefit of the Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0100604, filed on Aug. 5, 2014, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The following description relates to a detachable-type air conditioner having an indoor unit and an outdoor unit.

2. Description of the Related Art

In general, an air conditioner is an apparatus configured to cool or heat indoor air through a cooling cycle, and as for the air conditioner as such, a detachable type air conditioner having an indoor unit and an outdoor unit may be provided.

The indoor unit includes an indoor unit body to form an external appearance thereof, an indoor heat-exchanging unit to heat exchange with the indoor air, and an indoor expansion valve to decompress and expand refrigerant prior to introducing the refrigerant into the indoor heat-exchanging unit at the time of cooling.

The outdoor unit includes an outdoor unit body to form an external appearance thereof, a compressor to compress the refrigerant, an outdoor heat-exchanging unit to heat exchange with outdoor air, an outdoor expansion valve to decompress and expand the refrigerant prior to introducing the refrigerant into the outdoor heat-exchanging unit at the time of heating, and a four-way valve to guide the refrigerant to be discharged from the compressor to one of the indoor unit or the outdoor heat-exchanging unit.

Recently, with respect to the detachable-type air conditioner as such, an air conditioner provided with a plurality of indoor outlets at the indoor unit body thereof may be present, so that air is simultaneously discharged to a plurality of locations through the plurality of indoor outlets or air is discharged to a portion of the plurality of locations.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide an air conditioner having a plurality of indoor outlets, capable of discharging air having different temperatures through the plurality of indoor outlets.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. The indoor unit may be disposed in an indoor space. The outdoor unit may be disposed in an outdoor space and connected to the indoor unit through refrigerant pipes. The indoor unit may include: an indoor unit body forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and provided with a plurality of indoor outlets; and a plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units disposed inside the indoor unit body such that the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units corresponds to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.

The indoor unit may include a plurality of indoor fans corresponding to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.

The indoor unit may include a plurality of expansion valves to decompress and expand each refrigerant prior to being introduced into the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units at the time of cooling.

The outdoor unit may include a compressor to compress the refrigerant, and an outdoor heat-exchanging unit to exchange heat with outdoor air.

The outdoor unit may include a four-way valve to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to one of the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units and the outdoor heat-exchanging unit, and an outdoor expansion valve to decompress and expand refrigerant prior to being introduced into the outdoor heat-exchanging unit at the time of heating.

The indoor expansion valve and the outdoor expansion valve may be formed in the form of electronic valves capable of adjusting degrees of opening.

The air conditioner may include: a first refrigerant pipe to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to the four-way valve; a second refrigerant pipe connecting the four-way valve to the outdoor heat-exchanging unit; a third refrigerant pipe connecting the four-way valve to the indoor heat-exchanging unit; a fourth refrigerant pipe connecting the four-way valve to the compressor to guide the refrigerant from the four-way valve to the compressor; and a fifth refrigerant pipe connecting the indoor heat-exchanging unit to the outdoor heat-exchanging unit. The third refrigerant pipe is connected to each of the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units through a plurality of third branch refrigerant pipes, and the fifth refrigerant pipe is connected to each of the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units through a plurality of fifth branch refrigerant pipes.

The plurality of indoor outlets each may be upwardly/downwardly disposed at a front surface of the indoor unit body while spaced apart to each other.

The plurality of indoor outlets may be disposed toward left/right sides at a front surface of the indoor unit body while spaced apart to each other.

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, an air conditioner includes an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. The indoor unit may be disposed in an inside space. The outdoor unit may be disposed in an outdoor space and connected to the indoor unit through refrigerant pipes. The indoor unit may include an indoor unit body forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and provided with a plurality of indoor outlets; and one indoor heat-exchanging unit disposed inside the indoor unit body such that the indoor heat-exchanging unit corresponds to the plurality of indoor outlets. The indoor heat-exchanging unit may include a plurality of heat-exchangers corresponding to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.

The indoor unit may include a plurality of expansion valves to decompress and expand each refrigerant prior to being introduced into the plurality of heat-exchangers at the time of cooling.

The outdoor unit comprises a compressor to compress the refrigerant; an outdoor heat-exchanging unit to exchange heat with outdoor air; a four-way valve to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to one of the plurality of exchangers and the outdoor heat-exchanging unit; and an outdoor expansion valve to decompress and expand refrigerant prior to being introduced into the outdoor heat-exchanging unit at the time of heating.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects of the disclosure will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a cooling cycle of the air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a cooling cycle of an air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

As illustrated on FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an air conditioner in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an indoor unit 10 disposed in an indoor space and an outdoor unit 20 disposed in an outdoor space.

The indoor unit 10 includes an indoor unit body 11 forming an external appearance thereof, indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C to heat-exchange with indoor air, indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C to decompress and expand refrigerant guided into the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C at the time of cooling, and indoor fans 14A, 14B, and 14C to circulate the indoor air to heat-exchange with the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C.

The indoor unit body 11 is provided to accommodate the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C and the indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C at an inside thereof. The indoor unit body 11 is provided with an indoor inlet 11 d to have the indoor air inlet inside the indoor unit body 11, and indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c to have the air heat-exchanged with the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C outlet into the indoor space.

The indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c are provided in a plurality of units at the indoor unit body 11 such that the each of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c may outlet air toward a plurality of locations. The three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c in the present embodiment are upwardly/downwardly, or vertically, disposed at a front surface of the indoor unit body 11 while spaced apart from each other, and may outlet, or exhaust, air at different heights. That is, the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c include an upper indoor outlet 11 a, a middle indoor outlet 11 b, and a lower indoor outlet 11 c.

The three units of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C and the indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C is each provided in a plurality of units to correspond to the plurality of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c. In the present embodiment, the three units of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C and the three units of the indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C are included to correspond to the three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c. That is, the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C include an upper indoor heat-exchanging unit 12A, a middle indoor heat-exchanging unit 12B, and a lower indoor heat-exchanging unit 12C.

The indoor fans 14A, 14B, and 14C provided in a plurality of units is each disposed at an inner side of the each of the plurality of indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c, so that the air passed through the plurality of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C may be outlet through the each of the corresponding indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c. In the present embodiment, the indoor fans 14A, 14B, and 14C are provided in three units to correspond to the three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c. That is, the indoor fans 14A, 14B, and 14C include an upper indoor fan 14A, a middle indoor fan 14B, and a lower indoor fan 14C.

The outdoor unit 20 includes an outdoor unit body 21, a compressor 22 to compress refrigerant, an outdoor heat-exchanging apparatus 24 to heat-exchange with outdoor air, a four-way valve 23 provided such that the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 22 may selectively be delivered to one of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C and the outdoor heat-exchanging apparatus 24, an outdoor expansion valve 25 to decompress and expand the refrigerant introduced into the outdoor heat-exchanging apparatus 24 prior to inletting the refrigerant into the outdoor heat-exchanging apparatus 24 at the time of heating, and an outdoor fan 26 provided such that the outdoor heat-exchanging apparatus 24 may heat-exchange with outdoor air.

The outdoor unit body 21 includes the compressor 22, the outdoor heat-exchanging apparatus 24, the four-way valve 23, and the outdoor expansion valve 25, all of which are described above, at an inside thereof, and the outdoor unit body 21 is provided with an outdoor inlet 21 a configured to have outdoor air inlet inside the outdoor unit body 21 and an outdoor outlet 21 b configured to have the air heat-exchanged with the outdoor heat-exchanging unit 24 outlet again to an outdoor space.

Therefore, the outdoor air is inlet through the indoor inlet 21 a by a suction force and a blowing force that are generated from the outdoor fan 26, and then is discharged again to an outdoor space through the outdoor outlet 21 b after heat-exchanging with the outdoor heat-exchanging unit 24.

The above-mentioned plurality of indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C and the outdoor expansion valve 25 are formed in the form of electronic valves capable of adjusting degrees of opening, and are configured to adjust the amount of the refrigerant introduced into the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C.

The above-described indoor unit 10 is provided with the three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c at the indoor unit body 11, and as the three units of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C and the three units of the indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C are provided at an inside the indoor unit body 11 to correspond to the each of the three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c, the three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c may simultaneously discharged air having different temperatures.

As one example, by having a relatively large amount of refrigerant decompressed and expanded at the indoor expansion valve 13A positioned at an upper side, air having relatively lower temperature may be outlet at the indoor outlet 11 a positioned at an upper side, and by having a relatively small amount of refrigerant decompressed and expanded at the indoor expansion valves 13B and 13C positioned at middle and lower sides, air having relatively higher temperature is discharged at the indoor outlets 11 b and 11 c provided at middle and lower sides, an indoor space is adequately cooled while the air having lower temperature is prevented from being directly in contact with a user.

In addition, the air conditioner as such may selectively outlet air at a portion of the plurality of indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c according to the selection of a user.

For example, in a case when air is discharged from the middle indoor outlet 11 b and the lower indoor outlet 11 c, the upper indoor fan 14A is stopped, and the upper indoor expansion valve 13A, by shutting off a flow path formed at an inside thereof, may not have refrigerant delivered at the upper indoor heat-exchanging unit 12A.

Together with the above, by driving the middle indoor fan 14B and the lower indoor fan 14C, the middle indoor expansion valve 13B and the lower indoor expansion valve 13C are provided to open flow paths formed at insides thereof at proper degrees of opening, so that refrigerant may be delivered at the middle indoor heat-exchanging unit 12B and the lower indoor heat-exchanging unit 12C after the refrigerant is decompressed and expanded.

As the above, when the indoor fans 14A, 14B, and 14C and the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C are controlled, air is not outlet from the upper indoor outlet 11 a, as the air heat-exchanged with the middle indoor heat-exchanging unit 12B is discharged at the middle indoor outlet 11 b, the air heat-exchanged with the lower indoor heat-exchanging unit 12C is discharged at the lower indoor outlet 11 c.

In addition, in a case when air is discharged only from the upper indoor outlet 11 a and the middle indoor outlet 11 b, the lower indoor fan 14C is stopped, and the lower indoor expansion valve 13C, by shutting off a flow path formed at an inside thereof, may not have refrigerant delivered at the lower indoor heat-exchanging unit 12C.

Together with the above, by driving the upper indoor fan 14A and the middle indoor fan 14B, the upper indoor expansion valve 13A and the middle indoor expansion valve 13B are provided to open flow paths formed at insides thereof at proper degrees of opening, so that refrigerant may be delivered at the upper indoor heat-exchanging unit 12A and the middle indoor heat-exchanging unit 12B after the refrigerant is decompressed and expanded.

As the above, when the indoor fans 14A, 14B, and 14C and the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C are controlled, air is not outlet from the lower indoor outlet 11 c, as the air heat-exchanged with the upper indoor heat-exchanging unit 12A is discharged at the upper indoor outlet 11 a, the air heat-exchanged with the middle indoor heat-exchanging unit 12B is discharged at the middle indoor outlet 11 b.

In addition, by use of the identical method as the above, air may be outlet only from the upper indoor outlet 11 a and the lower indoor outlet 11 c, while air is not outlet from the middle indoor outlet 11 b.

In addition, even in a case when air is not discharged from a portion of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c, in a case when air is discharged through the plurality of indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c, the air that is discharged through the plurality of indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c may be controlled to be outlet at different temperatures.

The inside structure of the outdoor unit 20 and the indoor unit 10 are connected to each other though a plurality of refrigerant pipes P1 to P5.

The refrigerant pipes P1 to P5 include a refrigerant pipe P1 to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor 22 to the four-way valve 23, a second refrigerant pipe P2 to connect the four-way valve 23 to the outdoor heat-exchanging unit 24, a third refrigerant pipe P3 to connect the four-way valve 23 to the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C, a fourth refrigerant pipe P4 to guide the refrigerant from the four-way valve 23 to the compressor 24, and a fifth refrigerant pipe P5 to connect the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C to the outdoor heat-exchanging unit 24. At this time, as described above, the three units of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C are provided, and thus the third refrigerant pipe P3 is connected to the each of the three units of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C through three units of third branch refrigerant pipes P3-1, P3-2, and P3-3, and the fifth refrigerant pipe P5 is connected to the each of the three units of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C through three units of fifth branch refrigerant pipes P5-1, P5-2, and P5-3.

The above-described indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C are installed at the fifth branch refrigerant pipes P5-1, P5-2, and P5-3, respectively, and may have refrigerant decompressed and expanded prior to introducing the refrigerant into the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C at the time of cooling, and at the time of heating, the refrigerant is passed through as is. As the outdoor expansion valve 25 is installed at the fifth refrigerant pipe P5, the refrigerant is decompressed and expanded prior to being introduced into the outdoor heat-exchanging unit 24 at the time of heating, and at the time of cooling, the refrigerant is passed through as is.

In the present embodiment, the indoor heat-exchanging units 12A, 12B, and 12C include a plurality of units thereof to correspond to the plurality of indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c, but are not limited hereto. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper, middle, and lower indoor heat-exchanging units 12 may each be provided to form each of a first heat-exchanging unit 12 a, a second heat-exchanging unit 12 b, and a third heat-exchanging unit 12 c, while one of the indoor heat-exchanging units 12 is provided to be included at the indoor unit body 11. The first heat-exchanging unit 12 a, the second heat-exchanging unit 12 b, and the third heat-exchanging unit 12 c may be provided separately, or may be provided as an assembly of heat-exchanging units.

The each of the third branch refrigerant pipes P3-1, P3-2, and P3-3 and the each of the fifth branch refrigerant pipes P5-1, P5-2, and P5-3 is connected to the first heat-exchanging unit 12 a, the second heat-exchanging unit 12 b, and the third heat-exchanging unit 12 c of the indoor heat-exchanging unit 12 structured as the above, respectively, and the indoor expansion valves 13A, 13B, and 13C are disposed at the fifth branch refrigerant pipes P5-1, P5-2, and P5-3, respectively, and by controlling the amount of flow of the refrigerant introduced into the first heat-exchanging unit 12 a, the second heat-exchanging unit 12 b, and the third heat-exchanging unit 12 c, the air passing through the each heat-exchanging unit may cool the air passing through the each portion at different temperatures, so that the air having different temperatures may be simultaneously discharged at the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the indoor unit body 11 is extended upwardly/downwardly, and the three units of the indoor outlets 11 a, 11 b, and 11 c are upwardly/downwardly formed at a front surface of the indoor unit body 11 while spaced apart to each other, but are not limited hereto, and as illustrated on FIG. 4, an indoor unit body 11-1 of an indoor unit 10-1 may be extendedly formed toward left/right sides, and indoor outlets 11 e and 11 f may be disposed toward left/right sides while spaced apart from each other. In addition, as illustrated, the number of the indoor outlets 11 e and 11 f is provided to be two units, and may be variously formed. As the above, in a case when the indoor outlets 11 e and 11 f are disposed toward left/right sides while spaced apart from each other, the both spaces at the left/right sides may be cooled at different temperatures from each other.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the air conditioner is configured to perform a cooling and a heating by having the four-way valve 23, but is not limited hereto, and by deleting the structure corresponding to the four-way valve, the indoor heat-exchanging unit may be provided to operate as an evaporator while the outdoor heat-exchanging unit may be provided to operate as an condenser, so that the air conditioner may perform only a cooling.

As described above, an air conditioner includes a plurality of indoor outlets provided at an indoor unit body and a plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units corresponding to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively, thereby discharging air having different temperatures through the plurality of indoor outlets.

Although a few embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An air conditioner, comprising: an indoor unit; and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit through refrigerant pipes, wherein the indoor unit comprises an indoor unit body forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and provided with a plurality of indoor outlets; and a plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units disposed inside the indoor unit body such that the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units corresponds to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.
 2. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein: the indoor unit further comprises a plurality of indoor fans corresponding to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.
 3. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein: the indoor unit further comprises a plurality of expansion valves to decompress and expand a refrigerant prior to being introduced into the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units.
 4. The air conditioner of claim 3, wherein: the outdoor unit further comprises a compressor to compress the refrigerant, and an outdoor heat-exchanging unit to exchange heat with outdoor air.
 5. The air conditioner of claim 4, wherein: the outdoor unit further comprises a four-way valve to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to one of the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units and the outdoor heat-exchanging unit, and an outdoor expansion valve to decompress and expand refrigerant prior to being introduced into the outdoor heat-exchanging unit.
 6. The air conditioner of claim 5, wherein: the indoor expansion valve and the outdoor expansion valve are formed in the form of electronic valves capable of adjusting degrees of opening.
 7. The air conditioner of claim 5, comprising: a first refrigerant pipe to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to the four-way valve; a second refrigerant pipe connecting the four-way valve to the outdoor heat-exchanging unit; a third refrigerant pipe connecting the four-way valve to the indoor heat-exchanging unit; a fourth refrigerant pipe connecting the four-way valve to the compressor to guide the refrigerant from the four-way valve to the compressor; and a fifth refrigerant pipe connecting the indoor heat-exchanging unit to the outdoor heat-exchanging unit, wherein the third refrigerant pipe is connected to each of the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units through a plurality of third branch refrigerant pipes, and the fifth refrigerant pipe is connected to each of the plurality of indoor heat-exchanging units through a plurality of fifth branch refrigerant pipes.
 8. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of indoor outlets are disposed in a vertical arrangement at a front surface of the indoor unit body while spaced apart from each other.
 9. The air conditioner of claim 1, wherein: the plurality of indoor outlets are disposed in a horizontal arrangement at a front surface of the indoor unit body while spaced apart from each other.
 10. An air conditioner, comprising: an indoor unit; and an outdoor unit connected to the indoor unit through refrigerant pipes, wherein the indoor unit comprises an indoor unit body forming an external appearance of the indoor unit and provided with a plurality of indoor outlets; and one indoor heat-exchanging unit disposed inside the indoor unit body such that the indoor heat-exchanging unit corresponds to the plurality of indoor outlets, and the indoor heat-exchanging unit comprises a plurality of heat-exchangers corresponding to the plurality of indoor outlets, respectively.
 11. The air conditioner of claim 10, wherein: the indoor unit further comprises a plurality of expansion valves to decompress and expand a refrigerant prior to being introduced into the plurality of heat-exchangers.
 12. The air conditioner of claim 11, wherein the outdoor unit comprises: a compressor to compress the refrigerant; an outdoor heat-exchanging unit to exchange heat with outdoor air; a four-way valve to guide the refrigerant discharged from the compressor to one of the plurality of exchangers and the outdoor heat-exchanging unit; and an outdoor expansion valve to decompress and expand refrigerant prior to being introduced into the outdoor heat-exchanging unit.
 13. An air conditioner comprising: a body comprising: a first outlet; a first adjustable expansion valve to decompress a refrigerant; a first heat exchanger provided to receive the decompressed refrigerant from the first adjustable expansion valve; a first fan provided to generate a flow of air through the first heat exchanger to exhaust from the first outlet at a first temperature; a second outlet; a second adjustable expansion valve provided in parallel with the first adjustable expansion valve to decompress the refrigerant; a second heat exchanger provided to receive the decompressed refrigerant from the second adjustable expansion valve; and a second fan provided to generate a flow of air through the second heat exchanger to exhaust from the second outlet at a second temperature.
 14. The air conditioner of claim 13, wherein the first temperature is different from the second temperature.
 15. The air conditioner of claim 13, wherein each of the first adjustable expansion valve, the first fan, the second adjustable expansion valve, and the second fan is independently operable. 